Ceramic plates, or ceramic plates applied to a carrier substrate, for example metal, are used as carriers or sensing electrolyte structures in various gas sensors, and, also, as carriers for layer-formed heaters which are applied adjacent an ion conductive solid electrolyte material, for example, zirconium dioxide, to which sensing electrodes are applied. Such sensors--see for example, the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,435--are used in combination with electrical power supply circuits and electrical evaluation circuits, the power supply circuits providing heating power to the heating conductor path or paths of the sensor, and the evaluation circuits being connected to the sensor to determine the characteristics of the gases as a function of output signals derived therefrom. It is difficult to make connections of leads, or wire or cable connections to the contact regions of conductive paths applied to the plate-like sensing elements. It is customary to make the connections in form of solder joints to connect electrical lead wires to conductive tracks on the ceramic elements, the conductive tracks leading to the measuring electrode portions and the heating portions, respectively, of the sensor. The difficulty is the structural arrangement of the sensor elements which are composite elements. The elements are small, and the available space to make contact connections in the connecting region of the sensors is so minute that difficulties in connection results. A typical element may have ceramic material in the connecting end portion of 1 mm thickness and 6 mm width, for example. Applying more than one connecting wire to a composite element on which two or more such ceramic plates are placed facing each other, immediately adjacent each other or only closely spaced from each other, causes great difficulty.